Marijuana has a reputation as a safe, innocuous drug – one associated more with relaxation than with serious mental health risks. However, today’s high-THC strains are far more potent than they were decades ago, and a growing body of evidence links marijuana use to severe psychiatric issues, including psychosis.
No drug is harmless when it comes to your mental health. If you choose to use cannabis products, you should educate yourself about the potential risks and drawbacks.
What Is Psychosis?
Psychosis is a mental health condition where a person loses touch with reality. It can involve:
- Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there
- Persistent false beliefs that are not based in reality
- Disorganized thinking
- Paranoia or extreme mistrust
- Emotional flatness or inappropriate emotional responses
Psychosis can be temporary, but if you don’t receive professional attention, it can also lead to long-term psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
Why Marijuana Isn’t as Harmless as You Think
Marijuana’s primary psychoactive ingredient, THC, affects the brain’s communication systems by binding to cannabinoid receptors. In moderate amounts, THC can cause euphoria and altered perception. However, in large doses, THC can overwhelm your brain functions and trigger psychotic symptoms – especially with today’s ultra-potent strains.
Research shows that high-potency marijuana use increases the risk of developing psychosis, particularly among people who:
- Use marijuana daily or heavily
- Start using cannabis during adolescence, when their brains are still developing
- Have a personal or family history of mental illness
- Are genetically predisposed to psychotic disorders
When THC floods your brain, it can disrupt your thought processes, emotional regulation and sensory perceptions, sometimes leading to frightening and destabilizing episodes of psychosis.
Symptoms of Marijuana-Induced Psychosis
Symptoms of psychosis triggered by marijuana may include:
- Intense paranoia or fear that others are trying to harm you
- Auditory or visual hallucinations
- Confused, illogical or fragmented thinking
- Delusional beliefs, such as thinking you have special powers or that others are out to harm you
- Severe anxiety or agitation
- Memory problems and disorientation
These symptoms can emerge while the drug is still active in your system – or days later, in some cases. For some, marijuana-induced psychosis may be the first sign of an underlying mental health condition that cannabis use has brought to the surface.
Marijuana Addiction and Psychosis: A Dangerous Combination
Many people still underestimate marijuana’s addictive potential. However, repeated marijuana use can lead to dependence, withdrawal symptoms and compulsive use – especially when you use high-potency strains.
When addiction and psychosis overlap, recovery becomes even more complicated. Marijuana addiction can make it extremely difficult to recognize psychotic symptoms in yourself or accept help. Continued use often worsens psychiatric symptoms, leading to a dangerous downward spiral.
Why Professional Treatment Is Essential
Clinical intervention is critical if you have experienced psychosis related to marijuana use. Treatment for marijuana-induced psychosis must address the immediate psychiatric crisis and the substance use habit that contributed to it.
Rising Roads Recovery offers specialized care for women facing complex, co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Our trauma-informed, evidence-based approach includes:
- Medical and psychiatric stabilization
- Life skills education focused on improving your decision-making, coping and emotional regulation skills
- Treatment for underlying trauma, depression or anxiety
- Ongoing guidance on preventing a relapse and building a healthy, substance-free life
The Truth About Marijuana
Marijuana is not the harmless drug many people believe it to be – especially today, when THC concentrations are significantly higher than in the past. For some women, casual use can quickly escalate into addiction, psychiatric instability and emotional suffering.
If you are struggling with marijuana use or have experienced symptoms of psychosis, you deserve judgment-free, empathetic help. Contact us today to learn about our women’s-only treatment center in California.
